Ruffling mechanism for sewing-machines.



A. H. DE VOE. RUFFLING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 2. I915.

Patented July 23, 1918.

2 $HEETS-$HEET1 WITNESSES:

3 EEE m: mamas PE'rERs co.. Pnomurua, wAsHlNomN. o. c.

RUFFLING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. i915.

Patented July 23, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IIVVE/I/ TOR Z By . v ATTORNEY TED mans raarnnm orrrc ALBERT H, DE VOE,OF WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFLAG TUBINGCOMPANY, ACOBJEOBATION 01:" NEW JERSEY. i

BUIEFLING Mncr-raursm non sEwmG-Macnmss To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, ALBERT H. DE Von, a citizen of theUnited States, residingat Westfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rufiling Mechanisms forSewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in sewing machine rufl'lers, andhas for its object to provide a machine adapted to gather a ribbon orthe like into scallop-shaped series of ruffles and to secure the saidrufiles by stitching, i

In the present embodiment of the im provements, the sewing mechanismcomprises a reciprocatory needle and a rotary looper cooperating to forma single thread chainstitch, the feedingand presser-members being ofusual form. The main-shaft of the sewing machine is disposed in bearingsbelow the work-plate, and is provided with an eccentric for operating,through suitable connections, the ruflier actuating rock-shaft fittedloosely within bearings above the work-supporting plate and havingthereon a depending arm provided with a laterally projecting studembraced by the sleeve of a bracket formed with horizontally disposedchannels to receive horizontally projecting members of tworelatively-adjustable rufller-blade carriers, a spring tending to tiltthe bracketj toward the workplate. The ruffler-blade carriers aremovable toward and fromeach other by means of a lever fulorumed upon thebracket and formed with apertures to receive pins projecting from thecarrier-projections. Each carrier per 86 is a flat horizontal plate having secured thereon at its forwardend the shank of a prongedrufiler-blade, oneplate being confined betweenthe. lower face of thesecond plate and a base-plate secured to a depending flange onthe saidsecond plate, the edge of the first plate and the inner face of theflange on the second plate being parallel with the line of feed to serveas edgeguiding stops for the ribbon, the said members thus forming aruiiling guide. The ruffiereactuating rock-shaft with the ruffiing guidesupported thereby is bodily moved endise duri g the m i p etiqljSpecification of Letters Patent.

through adjustable connections with a rotary cam given step-by-stepmovements rammed July as, rare. Application filed September 2, 1915.Serial No- 48595. i i

through Inechanismsimilar to that described in United States patent todated July 2, 1895. a

The operation of the rufliing device is such that after a ruiflingstroke and the penetration of the gathered ribbon by the,

Diehl No. 541,840,

needle, therufliing guide is retracted and by its movement away from thepoint at which the ribbon isifirmly held by the needle andpressenfootcauses the pronged blades to slide over the ribbonforadistance equal to the amount thereof thrust forward at the precedingruffling stroke. The lateral movementof the rufiiing guide during eachrufiiing stroke results in the productiono'f series of ruffles inscallop formation, the blades being laterally moved in one directionduring the production of a plurality of rufiies, in this case four,formingone half of the scallop, a reverse movement ofthe blades beingeffected in the production of, a

like

lop. a p p a In the. drawings, Figure 1 is a. frontelevationof a machineembodying the improvepartly in section. Fig. dis a front elevationmechanism for imparting lateral movements number of ruffles to completethe seal- 'ments, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same,

to the rufiling guide. Figs. 5, ,6, 7, 8 and 9 are detail views ofcertain parts of the ruffling guide, and Fig. 10 is a view of theproduct. Fig. 11 is across section on line 11,11, Fig. v6. p Theimprovements are shown in connection with a machine comprising the bedA, i

standard B and overhanging armC terminating in the hollow-head Doverlying the work-supporting plate E. Journaled in bearings formedwithin the standard B and bearing support A is the main-shaft 1providedat one end with the connected driving pulley 2 and balance-wheel3, and carrying at its opposite end the rotary looper 4-.

J ournaled in the overhanging arm, C is the needle-actuating rock-shaft5 operatively connectedby means of crank-arm 6 and link 7 with theneedle-bar 8 supporting the needle 9, the shaft being actuated throu hcrank-arm t? and pitmali 3* driven by ii? balance- Wheel 3. The feedingdevice is of usual form and comprises the feed-bar 10 operativelyconnected at one end with the feed-.actuating.rocker 11 operated throughpitman l1 havinga strap embracingec'eentrio 6 and provided at itsopposite end with a yoke 12 embracingthe -feed-lifteccentric 13 on themain-shaft 1, the feed-dog 1% being adjustably connected to an arm =10projecting laterally from theteed-bar 10.

The rufHer-actuating rock-shaft 16 is looselyniounted withinthe bearingbosses 15,projectinglaterallyfrom the standard B andhea d D, andlnisfixedthereonatone end the Slottedcrank-arnr 17, connected by 'nieans ofthe adjustable sliding connection v18 with a rock-lever 19 havingitsfulcrumstud; 2O fittedwithin an aperture formed in .bQSS 21projecting from .the standard B.

The rock-lever 19,.is termed-with the latch ally e tendil g flanges, 19*to. provide a channel-way to receivev theslide-block 18 .t'orming a partof the adjustable connection 18. .The lower end of rock-lever l 9 isconnected by means of stud-screw 22,.witl1'the upper .end. of eccentric,rod provided at its, lower end witha strap. 23 e1nbraeing therufiieraetuating eccentric 21 on main shaft 1. f

the reduced threaded end. of j a horizontally disposedstnd 30 formedwith a collar 30 to, abut the arrn, a nut ,31. serving to. secure thestud in position. Loosely mounted upon the stud ZrO is thesleeve 32 ofabracket 33 formedwith the. seats or channels aand c to receivehorizontally projecting members of the rutfienblade carriers 351 and 35.

Therufller-blade carrier 34; is a fiat plate having at its forward end ahorizontally disposed; ot. t e e v h shank f a mi le le efifi formed witin'aie ng r gaging prongs, the blade being secured in position by neansofthe set-screws 3.7. Integral with the, carrier-plate 3a is an arm 38'.formed with a projecting horizontally disposed lu 38*fitted, toflslidewithin the channel 0* formed in the bracket 33. :Depending from thecarrier-plate 3a is a flange SQ/ towhich is secured the upper face of abase-plate 40 between which and the carrier-pla ese is sl dingly fi tedh a plate,.3,5 tOwhieh issecured by means of the scr ws e1. the prongedrtfi l g blade 2,, a

clearance space 3% for the heads oi said screws being formed in thecarrier-plate ill. The carrler-plate 35 is provided with an varm 43 itsupper portion being bent hori- .zontally to slid-inglyfit within thechannel 0 formed in the bracket hen the carrier-plates are in assembledposition, as shown in Fig. 1 a ribbon-guiding channel is providedbetween the plates 3-1- and 10, edgegui ding walls for. the ribbon beingprovided which fit within theslots .44 of a shifting lever 45. pivotallyconnected at 47 to, the bracket 3,3. The shifting lever is formed .witha shert handle 41F and with a segnenta] slot 8" to receive a guide-pin46 carried, by the bracket It will bev understood that by moving thelever 15 to the left or right an adj -istlncnt may be made inthe.distancebet-ween the inner wall ol the flange 39 of plate 34: andthe edge 35* of the plate 35 to accommodate various widths of ribbon. Itwill also be seen from Figs. 5,.and, Gthat the ruiiling blades willvengage the marginal portions oi the ribbon, whatever the adjustment maybe. The rufiling guide is tilted forward Under pressure to ward the workbyvnieans of a coiled spring etSsurrounding the reduced portion 32* ofthebracket-sleeve 32,,oneend thereof ongagingthe upper face of carrier3t and its opposite, cud resting upon the projcctin arm of a stop member49 secured upon the depending rocker-arm 27.

To, lay the ruflies in scallop formation, the ruflier-actuatingrock-shaft with the ri-rfi' ling guide supported thereby isintermittently and bodily n oycd during the ruiiling operations. To.thisend. the rockshaft 16 is embraced,bclmtcn the collars 5b clampedthereon. by thcslceve 5,0 of a depending arm 51 formed with alongitudinal slot to receive a slide-block 52 carried by a stud 53formed at its inner end with a rcetangtularhead fiifi? adapted forsliding adjustment withinan undercut channel. formed in a rock-lever 54.The rock-lever 5 1; is provided at its upper end with a "fulcrumpinloosely mounted within the, horizental sleeve 5.6 of a bracket-arm 57secured upon the overhanging arm 0 by the screws 58. The stud 53carrying slide-block 52 is threaded at its outer end to receive a washer5,9 having clalnped tlrereon the split hub 6O of a short lever. 60 bymeans of which the slide-block may be adjusted toward and from thefulcrum point of the rock-leverand may be secured in its. adjusted1908ition. 1

To enable the operator to exactly adjust the point of connection betweenthe rocklever 54 and arm 51 to obtain a desired lateral throw of theruflling guide, the stud 53 is embraced by the shank of, and carrieswith it, a pointer 61 bent into parallel relationship with the face ofarm 51 and adja cent index lines formed on the outer face of the saidarm. Therock-lever 54 is given intermittent movements through a rotarycam-wheel 62 loosely mounted upon the main-shaft 1 and formed with aslot 3 to receive a stud 63 carried by the said lever.

The cam-wheel 62 is formed with the horizontally extending teeth 62*between which successively enter the horizontallyextending pins 64,64',-of a lever-dog 65 embracing an eccentric 67 on the main-shaft 1.The dog 65 is formed with a socket in its under peripheral face toreceive for pivotal connection by means of pin 64' the verticallyextending arm 66 of a fulcrunrguide 66 which is slidingly fitted withina seat formed in the bed A of the machine and serves to maintain thelower end of the dog stationary when the other end of the same is swungto rotate the cam-wheel 62. It will be understood that when the shaft 1is rotated the eccentric 67 will move the,

lever-dog 65 upwardly until the pin 64 enters between two of the teeth62 of camwheel 62, whereupon the dog will be swung upon its pivotalconnection with fulcrumguide 66 to impart a semi-rotation to thecam-wheel. Continued rotation of the sccentric 67 will move the dogdownwardly to disengage its pin 64 from the teeth of the cam-wheel andto engage its holding pin 64 with the wheel so as to hold the latterstationary when in the continued rotation of the eccentric the dog isswung to initial position. As hereinbefore pointed out the mechanismjust described is similar to that disclosed in patent to Diehl No.541,840, of July 2,1895, and may be substituted by other suitablemechanism for the same purpose.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim hereinis 1. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitchforming mechanism,of a rufilerblade, means for imparting endwise reciprocatory movementsin a fixed direction to said blade, and means for moving the said bladebodily laterally to lay the ruffles in different positions relative tothe line of stitching.

2. In a sewing machine, in combination, stitchforming mechanismincluding a reciprocating needle, feeding mechanism, a rattler-bladehaving an active fabric-engaging edge-portion, and means for maintainingsaid edge-portion in fixed angular relation to the line of feed whilereciprocating which and said rufl'ler-blade the material to be ruflledpasses, means for lmpartmgreciproeatory rufflng impulses to said bladeand plate, and means for moving said blade and plate laterally to laythe rufiies in different positions relatively to the line of stitching.

4. In ruflling mechanism for sewing machines, the combination with arui'Her-blade' of a carrier for said ruftler-blade adapted to receiveand guide a tape, and means for imparting transversely directedmovements to the said carrier.

5. In ruftling mechanism for sewing machines, the combination with aruffler-blade and a carrier for said blade adapted to receive, andhaving edge-guiding walls for, a tape, of means for varying the distancebetween the edge-guiding walls of the carrier, means for reciprocatingthe said carrier, and means for moving said carrier laterally.

6. In rufiling mechanism for sewing machines, the combination with asupporting bracket, of two rufiler-blade carriers relatively movableupon the said bracket and formed with vertical guide-walls,rufiierblades adjacent the said guide-walls, and means for adjusting thecarriers to vary the spacing between the said guide-walls.

7 In rufliing devices for sewing machines, a rufiiing-guide comprisingtwo relativelyadjustable sections, the first section being formed withhorizontally-disposed upper and lower guiding walls and an intermediatevertical guide-wall, the second section being slidin gly fitted betweenthe upper and lower guiding walls of the first section and formed with avertical guiding wall parallel with the corresponding wall of the firstsection, and a rufller-blade sustained by one of the said sections.

8. In rufliing devices for sewing machines,

I qopiesbf athimpatentmay be obtained for *membene supporting bracketforthesaid iguide-members, a lever carried by r bra'cket and connected'withand adapted to said relatively move the said guide-members, and al'nhier-blade carried by one of smd gu1demembers.

10 In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT H. DE VOE.

-five :cents each; by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,;-Washington, D. 0.

